Elevated floor system



Jam 7, 1969 E. c. LISKEY, JR.. ETAL ELEVATED FLOOR SYSTEM Sheet Filed Sept. 1, 1966 w. mm V r E M L a w w E RICHARD W. CUSTER BY .7 Mm, Wdlflf/ ATTORNEYS E. c. LISKEY, JR.. ET AL 3,420,012

Jan. 7, 1969 ELEVATED FLOOR SYSTEM Sheet 2 of 5 Filed Sept. 1, 1966 %m y, mnm m A m Tm 4. ER r 8% Jan. 7, 1969 E. c. LISKEY, JR.. ETAL ELEVATED FLOOR SYSTEM Sheet Filed Sept. 1, 1966 FIG. 4

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m/vg vroes ERNEST C. LISKEY JR RICHARD W CUSTER B) 7%; WMM/J TT R/VEVS United States Patent 3,420,012 ELEVATED FLOOR SYSTEM Ernest C. Liskey, Jr., P.0. Box 580, Glen Burnie,

Md. 21061, and Richard W. Custer, 410 Chalfonte Drive, Catonsville, Md. 21228 Filed Sept. 1, 1966, Ser. No. 576,685 US. Cl. 52126 Int. Cl. E04g 15/18 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The present invention relates to false or elevated floors of the type disclosed in US Patent No. 3,150,748.

As set forth in Patent No. 3,150,748, elevated floors find application in the computer field. Computer machinery can be supported on a false floor with the maze of electric cables and wires being conducted between the original floor and the elevated floor.

The present invention is particularly concerned with a system using adjustable pedestal supports having a unique pedestal head construction so that an elevated floor can be rested on the pedestals with or without stringers being used to support the edges of the panels. The present invention is also concerned with a new panel of reinforced construction that enables the panels to be supported on pedestals without a latticework of stringers. Thus, even without stringers, these panels comprise a strong elevated floor capable of sustaining heavy loads. These and other objects will be apparent from the following description.

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a pedestal showing a stringer in place.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the structure of FIG. 1

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the bottom of one of the panels.

FIG. 4 is a view taken along the lines 44 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a view taken along the lines 55 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 is a view taken along the lines 66 of FIG. 3.

As seen in FIGS. 1 and 2, the pedestal 20 is composed of a head or cap 22, a bolt 20 and a base 21. The pedestal cap 22 itself is an octagonal-shaped, hollow, flat head. The head has four vertical triangular-shaped projections 24 arranged symmetrically on the outer periphery of the head on every other side of the octagon with the apexes 25 of the triangle facing inwardly.

Four lateral arms 26 extend outwardly from the sides of the head on every other side of the octagon, alternate from the sides carrying the triangular projections. These arms can each support a stringer. The arms have upwardly facing channels 28 the inner sides of which are provided with opposing protuberances 29 adjacent the open ends of the channels. The arms 26 are provided with reinforcing webs 30 which are positioned beneath the channels. The webs 30 are fixed to a hollow member which comprises the body of the pedestal cap. A reinforcing rib 32 extends along the body of the cap between each arm 26. The hollow cap receives the extended end of a pedestal bolt 34 as seen in FIGS. 1 and 2. Preferably, the cap loosely receives the bolt and the bottom of the cap rests on a nut 36 threaded on the bolt end so that any adjustment to the height of the cap can be made by simply raising and lowering the nut. In order to prevent displacement of the nut,

3,420,012 Patented Jan. 7, 1969 "ice a second nut or preferably a retaining hose clamp 38 is positioned immediately beneath the nut.

The pedestal bolt is welded or otheriwse secured to a fiat steel base plate 21 which itself can be held on the floor with an adhesive.

The stringer 40 is comprised by an elongated channeled metal member having a top with a groove 42 and solid vertical flanges or sides 44 which terminate in reinforcing ribs 45. The groove 42 is formed centrally and longitudinally along the top of the stringer. Adjacent each end of the stringer a portion of the top is cut out so as to provide a hole 46 to receive the protuberances 29 of an arm of the pedestal cap when the stringer is supported on same. The reinforcing webbing 30 of the cap 22 is received within the channeled stringer between the sides 44 of the latter so that any appreciable tipping of the stringer is frustrated by the webbing 30 acting as a stop for each of the flanges of the stringer. This stringer can also be used to rest on the top of a pedestal cap such as that disclosed in US. Patent 3,150,748. In either case, a seal cushioning strip is fitted within the groove 42 in the same manner as disclosed in Patent No. 3,150,748. The stringer can be made of extruded aluminum and still afford adequate support because of the reinforcement provided by flanges.

The panel 50 is normally dimensioned to about two feet square with a tread surface 52 of tile, an underlying intermediate flat steel sheet 54 and a bottom plate 56 of stamped steel which has been embossed or cold drawn to provide a plurality of indented triangles 57 having angled sides 58 when viewed in plan. Where the bottom plate and intermediate steel sheet are contiguous, they have spot welds 78 and the panel forms a three-dimensional sandwich with a plurality of connected hollow spaces 59 between the plate and sheet.

The sides 60 of the panel are each formed with an L- shaped bar 61, the horizontal leg 62 of which is retained between the peripheral edges of the bottom plate and the intermediate sheet by spot-welding same. The L-shaped bars are jig-welded to one another at their corners to fonm a square perimeter frame and an outer vertical side strip 64 is spot-welded to the vertical leg 63 of each L-shaped bars are jig-welded to one another at their corners to form 65 and an upper outwardly bent portion 66 which receives a channeled plastic filler strip 68 against which the tile 52 abuts when the panel is completely assembled. When a floor of these panels is assembled, the panels abut one another with the plastic strips of one panel in contact with the adjacent strips of the abutting panels. Thus each panel is insulated from abutting panels with resilient strips. If desired, the outer strip and L-bar can be fashioned from a single piece of metal and bent to the same configuration as that shown for the two piece side shown in the drawings.

It will be noted that at each corner of the panel, the bottom plate 56 is cut away at 57 leaving each corner clear of projections of protuberances. When a floor is formed by assembling the panels, the stringers can be omitted. With such an arrangement each triangular projection 24 of a pedestal cap will be placed at the corner of a separate panel and four panels will abut one another immediately above the fiat surface of the head or cap 22. It will be appreciated that each arm 26 of the cap is located slightly lower than the flat surface of the head. The difference in height is such that when a stringer is used, a panel resting on a stringer as well as the pedestal cap, will be positioned vertically at the same height as a panel without a stringer reinforcement.

The metal parts of the panel are preferably cold rolled steel with the intermediate sheet 54 and the L-bar 61 made of 14-gauge steel and the bottom plate 56 and outer strip 64 made of 16-gauge steel.

At the center 70 of the panel 50, the sheet 54 and the plate 56 are separated over a sufiiciently large area so that a center reinforcing piece 71 can be placed between them. The reinforcing piece is a four-sided metal piece having its sides 72 bent at right angles to bear on the inner surfaces of plate 56. The top surface of the reinforcing piece 71 can be welded to the inner surface of the sheet 54.

The foregoing detailed description has been given for clearness of understanding only and no unnecessary limitations should be understood therefrom, for further modifications will be obvious to those skilled in the art.

We claim:

1. A floor panel assembly for use in an elevated floor system comprising a panel and a supporting pedestal, said panel including an upper tread surface, an intermediate flat steel sheet and a reinforcing bottom plate, said bottom plate being fonmed to have a plurality of undulations in which alternate raised and lowered horizontal fiat surface portions are interconnected by generally vertical portions, the raised fiat portions being secured to said flat intermediate sheet, the outer periphery of said plate being secured to said intermediate sheet, an L-shaped bar having a horizontal leg and a vertical leg, said horizontal leg being sandwiched between the peripheries of said sheet and said plate, the vertical leg of said bar comprising an outer side of said panel, said pedestal having a vertically adjustable cap for supporting said panel and said cap having vertical projections, one of which is received in a corner of said panel to retain same in elevated position, a channeled stringer for supporting one edge of the panel supported by said pedestal, said pedestal having a plurality of laterally extending arms with open channels therein, opposing protuberances being formed within each of said open channels, said stringer having a groove formed in the top surface thereof, said top having a portion cut out along said groove to provide an aperture to receive said protuberances whereby said stringer accommodates one of said arms and evenly rests on the top surface of same.

2. The assembly of claim 1, wherein said cap has vertical projections, one of which is received in a corner of said panel to retain same in elevated position.

3. The assembly of claim 1, wherein said pedestal is composed of a vertical screw-threaded bolt and said cap rests on a nut threaded on said bolt, a hose clamp secured to said bolt immediately below said nut to prevent same from being displaced.

4. A floor panel assembly for use in an elevated floor system comprising a panel and a supporting pedestal, said panel including an upper tread surface, an intermediate flat steel sheet and a reinforcing bottom plate, said bottom plate being formed to have a plurality of undulations in which depressed portions are interposed to interconnect rib-like portions, said sheet and said plate being spaced apart at the center area of said panel and also spaced apart to form said rib-like portions radiating from said center area to adjacent the peripheries of said panel, a center piece in said center area, said center piece comprising a hollow, plural sided element with substantially vertical sides which bear on the inner surfaces of said plate and sheet, said depressed portions being secured to said flat intermediate sheet and the outer periphery of said plate being secured to said intermediate sheet, an L- shaped bar having a horizontal leg and a vertical leg, said horizontal leg being sandwiched between the peripheries of said sheet and said plate, the vertical leg of said bar comprising an outer side of said panel, said pedestal having a vertically adjustable cap for supporting said panel.

5. A panel for use in an elevated floor, said panel having an upper tread surface, an intermediate flat steel sheet and a reinforcing bottom steel plate, said bottom plate being formed to have a plurality of undulations in which depressed portions are interposed to interconnect rib-like portions, said sheet and said plate being spaced apart at the center area of said panel and also spaced apart to form said rib-like portions radiating from said center area to adjacent the peripheries of said panel, a center piece in said center area, said center piece comprising a hollow, plural sided element with substantially vertical sides which bear on the inner surfaces of said plate and sheet, said depressed portions and the outer periphery of said plate being welded to said sheet, the sides of said panel being composed of L-shaped bars, one leg of which is sandwiched between the edges of said plate and said sheet.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,009,340 11/1911 Prince 15115 2,830,332 4/1958 Pawlowski 52-126 3,150,748 9/ 1964 Liskey 52403 3,157,254 11/1964 7 Spiselman 52-126 3,258,892 7/1966 Rushton 152-630 3,339,504 9/1967 Schreyer 52623 FOREIGN PATENTS 214,775 8/ 1957 Australia. 1,335,886 7/1963 France. 450,686 3/1949 Italy.

HENRY C. SUTHERLAND, Primary Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 52-623, 630 

